The Philistines had raided the foothills and the Negev in Judah. They captured and began living in Beth Shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco and its villages, Timnah and its villages, and Gimzo and its villages.
So the Lord made the army commanders of the king of Assyria invade Judah. They took Manasseh captive, put a hook in his nose, put him in bronze shackles, and brought him to Babylon.
“Your country is devastated. Your cities are burned down. Your fields are destroyed right before your eyes by foreigners. Your fields are devastated and taken over by foreigners.
Though you are destroyed and demolished and your land is in ruins, you will be too crowded for ⌞your⌟ people now. Those who devoured you will be long gone.
Whom are you making fun of? Whom are you making a face at? Whom are you sticking out your tongue at? Aren’t you rebellious children, descendants of liars?
I asked, “How long, O Lord?” And he replied, “Until the cities lie in ruins with no one living in them, the houses have no people, and the land is completely desolate.
That is why the Lord isn’t happy with their young men, nor will he show compassion for their orphans and widows. Every one of them is a godless evildoer, and every mouth speaks foolishness. Even after all this, his anger will not disappear, and he is still ready to use his power.
They should never again say, ‘This is the Lord’s revelation,’ because each person’s word becomes the revelation. They will twist the words of the living God, the Lord of Armies, our God.
“Micah from Moresheth prophesied at the time of Judah’s King Hezekiah and said to all the people of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord of Armies says: Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a pile of rubble, and the temple mountain will become a worship site covered with trees.’
The enemy comes up like clouds. His chariots are like a raging wind. His horses are faster than eagles. How horrible it will be for us! We will be destroyed!
It is because their people did evil, and they made me angry. They went to burn incense and serve other gods that neither you nor your ancestors heard of.
Jerusalem’s own filth ⌞covers⌟ its clothes. It gave no thought to its future. Its downfall was shocking. No one offers it comfort. ‘O Lord, look at my suffering, because my enemies have triumphed.’
God asked me, “Son of man, do you see what the leaders of the nation of Israel are doing in secret? Each of them is in the room where his god is, and each one of them is thinking, ‘The Lord doesn’t see me. The Lord has abandoned this land.’ ”
He answered me, “The wickedness of the nations of Israel and Judah is terrible. The land is filled with murder, and the city is filled with wrongdoing. They think that the Lord has abandoned the land and that he doesn’t see.
They don’t return to the Most High. They are like a defective bow. Their officials will die in battle because they curse. The people in Egypt will ridicule them for this.
Because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a pile of rubble, and the temple mountain will become a worship site covered with trees.
Your eyes are too pure to look at evil. You can’t watch wickedness. Why do you keep watching treacherous people? Why are you silent when wicked people swallow those who are more righteous than they are?
He has come to judge all these people. He has come to convict all these ungodly sinners for all the ungodly things they have done and all the harsh things they have said about him.”